Silk Road forums

Discussion => Security => Topic started by: Olwyn on January 11, 2013, 06:59 am

Title: First time buying bitcoin. Does this sound alright?
Post by: Olwyn on January 11, 2013, 06:59 am
Am I thinking this through correctly? I'm in the USA. I want to purchase bitcoin online using a direct bank account transfer. So far, it looks like I'll be going through coinbase, as they're one of the few places I've found that support direct bank account transfers.

1) Purchase bitcoin using real name/bank account through clearnet ( this doesn't matter because purchasing bitcoins is legal )
2) Create two accounts with free wallet services using tor and a throwaway tor-email
3) Using clearnet, transfer bitcoins from coinbase to first wallet service
4) Using tor, log into first wallet service and transfer coins to second wallet service
5) Transfer from second wallet service to SR wallet


Does this sound reasonable? Are there any other places to buy bitcoin online with a direct bank account transfer from the USA? Also, what two free wallet services do people recommend?
Title: Re: First time buying bitcoin. Does this sound alright?
Post by: biteme on January 11, 2013, 07:02 pm
I have successfully used InstaWallet.org.

DO NOT USE TORWallet.net! It's been labeled as a scam. It used to work as claimed, but sometime late last year it stopped allowing withdrawals. At this time it looks like you can still send coins there but it's been reported that you can't get them out.

It's a good idea to stay current by reading the forums here and at BitcoinTalk.org for this kind of information. These anonymous services sometimes turn out to be scams in the end but they will typically operate legitimately for a while before that happens. You might want to test any service with small amounts before making larger transfers.
Title: Re: First time buying bitcoin. Does this sound alright?
Post by: The Advocate on February 25, 2013, 02:29 am
Am I thinking this through correctly? I'm in the USA. I want to purchase bitcoin online using a direct bank account transfer. So far, it looks like I'll be going through coinbase, as they're one of the few places I've found that support direct bank account transfers.

1) Purchase bitcoin using real name/bank account through clearnet ( this doesn't matter because purchasing bitcoins is legal )
2) Create two accounts with free wallet services using tor and a throwaway tor-email
3) Using clearnet, transfer bitcoins from coinbase to first wallet service
4) Using tor, log into first wallet service and transfer coins to second wallet service
5) Transfer from second wallet service to SR wallet


Does this sound reasonable? Are there any other places to buy bitcoin online with a direct bank account transfer from the USA? Also, what two free wallet services do people recommend?

It sounds reasonable.  Then again jail sentences can be deemed reasonable in a court of law.  I'd say talk with kmf about which tumbler he recommends.  That should be the ticket!
Title: Re: First time buying bitcoin. Does this sound alright?
Post by: fatoldsun on February 25, 2013, 03:34 am
You can and should "tumble" your coins through a mixer at some point, before sending them in to SR.

Two popular ones:
Bitcoin Fog: fogcore5n3ov3tui.onion
Blockchain.info Anonymizer: (clearnet link!) http://blockchain.info/wallet/send-anonymously
Title: Re: First time buying bitcoin. Does this sound alright?
Post by: sirius on March 01, 2013, 04:34 am
Honest guys, its ok to chill out about btc, just use tor to send your btc straight from your wallet on blockchain to sr.. they get tumbled upon arrival before being deposited into your account.. all of these extra services and steps are reinventing the wheel and increasing the odds that you noob your way into a scam or losing your coins in the ether or whatever.  ;)
Title: Re: First time buying bitcoin. Does this sound alright?
Post by: chasezip2201 on March 01, 2013, 04:39 am
Honest guys, its ok to chill out about btc, just use tor to send your btc straight from your wallet on blockchain to sr.. they get tumbled upon arrival before being deposited into your account.. all of these extra services and steps are reinventing the wheel and increasing the odds that you noob your way into a scam or losing your coins in the ether or whatever.  ;)

It increases you anonymity and security for buying drugs online.  In the event SR is compromised I think you'd be happy to know you took the extra time to research/do these things so you don't sit in a cage.
Title: Re: First time buying bitcoin. Does this sound alright?
Post by: sirius on March 01, 2013, 06:26 am
Honest guys, its ok to chill out about btc, just use tor to send your btc straight from your wallet on blockchain to sr.. they get tumbled upon arrival before being deposited into your account.. all of these extra services and steps are reinventing the wheel and increasing the odds that you noob your way into a scam or losing your coins in the ether or whatever.  ;)

It increases you anonymity and security for buying drugs online.  In the event SR is compromised I think you'd be happy to know you took the extra time to research/do these things so you don't sit in a cage.
OK, sure. I doubt that if sr is "compromised" (whatever that means) they'll be after you over your 400 dollars of bitcoins.. but if it keeps you conspiracy theorists happy thats cool. BTC have yet to my knowledge to get anybody busted, and I doubt you will ever get convicted in court because you didn't shuffle your money around before buying your 1/4 sheet of acid or whatever. I am more prone to trusting sr than half of these fly by night btc operations I see people using.  ::)
Title: Re: First time buying bitcoin. Does this sound alright?
Post by: fatoldsun on March 03, 2013, 03:05 am
Well it looks like Blockchain.info have taken down their anonymizer... too bad.

Silk Road uses a tumbler, but remember, all the coins that enter and leave here are coins related to SR. If you send your coins through some other service, you're mixing them with coins that didn't necessarily come from the road
Title: Re: First time buying bitcoin. Does this sound alright?
Post by: Aang on March 03, 2013, 08:50 pm
Am I thinking this through correctly? I'm in the USA. I want to purchase bitcoin online using a direct bank account transfer. So far, it looks like I'll be going through coinbase, as they're one of the few places I've found that support direct bank account transfers.

1) Purchase bitcoin using real name/bank account through clearnet ( this doesn't matter because purchasing bitcoins is legal )
2) Create two accounts with free wallet services using tor and a throwaway tor-email
3) Using clearnet, transfer bitcoins from coinbase to first wallet service
4) Using tor, log into first wallet service and transfer coins to second wallet service
5) Transfer from second wallet service to SR wallet


Does this sound reasonable? Are there any other places to buy bitcoin online with a direct bank account transfer from the USA? Also, what two free wallet services do people recommend?

This is the method I use, I don't see how it could be tracked, I use instawallet.org, transfer it to a couple of different wallets, switch TOR identity between opening, and transferring. If instawallet was compromised they would just see several different IP's moving bitcoins from wallet to wallet, then one would move it to SR, where it's tumbled anyway. It's not illegal to use instawallet, and even in the incredibly unlikely scenario that you were being investigated you can just say you forgot the wallet address and lost the money.

To prove beyond reasonable doubt would be fucking tough in my humble opinion. Open to criticism though.
Title: Re: First time buying bitcoin. Does this sound alright?
Post by: Oompaloompa on March 03, 2013, 09:32 pm

1) Purchase bitcoin using real name/bank account through clearnet ( this doesn't matter because purchasing bitcoins is legal )
2) Create two accounts with free wallet services using tor and a throwaway tor-email
3) Using clearnet, transfer bitcoins from coinbase to first wallet service
4) Using tor, log into first wallet service and transfer coins to second wallet service
5) Transfer from second wallet service to SR wallet


Does this sound reasonable?

I don't know if you'd consider it reasonable but it isn't anonymous in any way. There is a clear trail from you to the SR wallet.
If any authorities were to investigate your transactions they'd see the wallet associated with your name - Its easy to check blockchain and see what happened to the coins in that wallet. They could see that, say 20BTC were bought by you & were then transferred to xx1 wallet, then to xx2 wallet, then to xx3 wallet which is a SR wallet.

They'd see that the same coins were used all along the line, that the transactions were all of the same value & would know the times of the transactions.

It would not be difficult for a good prosecutor to make a strong case that you retained control of the BTC, that ownership never changed & that this was a (very poor) attempt to obfuscate the origin of the BTC.

Could you possibly refute this case? If you were to be asked what you did with your BTC by the police what would they say, that you bought something? what, from whom, what records are there.

You can see the issues now. That said it is probably unlikely that the police would go to this trouble unless you've otherwise piqued their interest, but if they did investigate your BTC they'd be easily able to trace them.
You may not want to bother doing anything to try to hide the ownership of your BTC, but if you do want to then you'll need to do better than the plan you outline.
Title: Re: First time buying bitcoin. Does this sound alright?
Post by: j3an on March 03, 2013, 10:57 pm
Try my bitcoin-otc thread - has instructions from start to finish. Decentralised, easy to use cash deposits if necessary, ability to barter, instant deposits etc you won't go back once you master it.

http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/index.php?topic=62808